John Boehner Hopes the President 'Will Get Serious' About the Fiscal Cliff

The budgetary impasse in Washington continued today, with the White House rejecting Speaker of the House John Boehner’s “Plan B” proposal to extend the current, reduced tax rates for everyone but millionaires in an effort to solve the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Mr. Boehner responded by holding a press conference of his own this afternoon, where he said the Republican majority in his chamber will pass his plan anyway, and President Barack Obama will either accept it, “or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history.”

“Republicans continue to work toward avoiding the fiscal cliff,” Mr. Boehner said in his extremely brief address. “The president’s officer of $1.3 trillion in revenues and $850 billion in spending reductions fails to meet the test that the president promised the American people, ‘a balanced approach.’ I hope that the president will get serious soon about providing and working with us, on a balanced approach. Tomorrow the House will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for nearly every American, 99.81 percent of the American people. Then the president will have a decision to make. He can call on the Senate Democrats to pass that bill, or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history.”

At Mr. Obama’s earlier media availability, he said he’s “gone at least halfway in meeting” the Republican’s demands on the budget, specifically his offer to only raise taxes on those making over $400,000 or more, up from his previous position of $250,000.

“If there’s one thing we should have after this week, it should be a sense of perspective about what’s important,” Mr. Obama argued, referencing the recent mass-shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that rocked the nation.

If the two sides cannot come to a deficit-reducing agreement by January 1st, all of the Bush-era tax cuts will expire, and an automatic set of spending cuts will be implemented.